WilmontÂ?s last-second leaner from 12 feet away came up short in the 52-51 defeat and Wilmont collapsed to the Conseco Fieldhouse floor in tears.

Ohio State (25-4), which plays Iowa (24-8) at 3:30 p.m. today (CBS) for the tournament crown, survived a pair of shots by the Hoosiers in the final seconds.

Indiana, trying to rally around resigned head coach Mike Davis, is 18-11, with its five-game win-ning streak snapped.

Â?I thought our guys fought hard and showed a lot of courage by just sticking with it, especially when we were down by (nine) points. There are no special emotions, just disappointment on losing the game,Â? Davis said.

Indiana rallied from a nine-point deficit (47-38) with 8:33 left and gained a 51-50 lead with 1:50 left in the game when Marshall Strickland stole the ball and fed Wilmont for a layup.

Ohio State regained the lead at 52-51 when Buckeye big man Terence Dials, at the top of the key, hit Matt Sylvester with a bullet pass. Sylvester, all alone underneath after screening for Jamar But-ler, hit the layup for the one-point Buckeye lead with 36 seconds left.

Â?(Indiana) got switched up a little bit, then Terence (Dials) found me under the basket,Â? Sylvester said. Â?I told him, Â?IÂ?ve been giving you assists for five years,Â? so itÂ?s about time he gave me one.Â?

After a timeout, Indiana set up to have big man Marco Killingsworth take the shot to win. Killingsworth tried a jump hook that came up short, but he grabbed his own rebound. As three Buckeyes surrounded him, Killingsworth flipped the ball to Wilmont, who lunged forward and fired, only to have the shot bounce off the front of the rim.

Â?It was one of those things,Â? Wilmont said as he slumped dejectedly in a folding chair in the IU locker room. Â?It just bounced right off the rim. I tried to get the shot up there in time, because I really didnÂ?t know how much time was on the clock. I just missed it.

Â?This hurts,Â? said Wilmont, who led the Hoosiers with 16 points. Â?We went out there to fight for us and to fight for coach. It was there for the whole team. We played so hard to get back into the game. We fought so hard to get back in it.Â?

After the Buckeyes bolted to an 8-0 lead, the Hoosiers scored 10 points in a 61-second flurry for a 10-8 lead. Wilmont ignited the Hoosier run by scoring IndianaÂ?s first eight points, six coming on a pair of 3-pointers.

When Ohio State pulled ahead by nine late in the second half (46-37), Wilmont brought the Hoo-siers back with four straight points and then a steal to set up Earl CallowayÂ?s fastbreak basket.

But Wilmont saw no silver lining after the game.

Â?Rod (Wilmont) is an emotional young man,Â? Davis said. Â?He plays with his heart. I wanted to go out to him (as he lay on the floor crying), but I wanted to shake the hands of all the players and coaches of the opposing team. ThereÂ?s no reason for him to feel bad about missing a shot. ItÂ?s part of the game.Â?

IndianaÂ?s Robert Vaden suffered an ankle injury with 3:06 left in the game and was carried off the court. Davis said VadenÂ?s status is day-to-day.

J.J. Sullinger led Ohio State with 19 points. Sullinger sparked the Buckeyes, shaking off 2-of-9 shooting in the first half to score Ohio StateÂ?s first 13 points of the second half. Sullinger, though, left the game at that point after taking an elbow in the eye by Strickland. He returned at the 12:09 mark, but didnÂ?t score again.

Â?J.J. (Sullinger) is a warrior,Â? Sylvester said. Â?HeÂ?s a banger. (IndianaÂ?s) guards were a little smaller and not as strong. He was the player of the game in my mind.Â?

Ohio State coach Thad Matta praised his teamÂ?s defense, which held the Hoosiers to 33 percent shooting (21-of-63).

Â?The last time we played Indiana, we gave up 78 points on about 60 possessions,Â? Matta said. Â?It was one of our worst defensive outings. Today may have been one of the better ones weÂ?ve had. As you get into these types of tournaments, itÂ?s about surviving, and fortunately for us, thatÂ?s exactly what we did today.Â?